Monday, February 13, 2012

These are some of my recent sketches on public transport. The sketch has always been my constant method of understanding and grasping everything that art is about. For me it all starts with a sketch.

What are the qualities of a sketch/sketcher?

I tried to think of some of the things I carry along into each sketch I make and thought of breaking it down into the very word S-K-E-T-C-H

S-It must have spirit! It must have the soul of the sketcher embedded into it!

K-It must be executed with knack! The sketcher has to find his or her own 'shorthand'way of doing it!

E-It has to have some sort of energy, by this I mean vitality and intensity of expression!

T-The sketch has to be unique with the sketchers particular technique. Because it's mostly done quickly there has to be an underlying technique utilized by the sketcher to get it done quickly, if need be!

C-COURAGE!!!!- This one is the most important, it's that state of mind that enables one to do it anywhere, anytime and any place without any lack of confidence or fear!

H-The sketcher must have Heart! By this I am emphasizing the sketchers prevailing mood and present or current inclination while the sketch is being executed. He or she must believe it is possible, once the hand touches the pen or pencil and the first stroke hits the paper!

SKETCHING THE SKETCHER-Here I sketch myself on public transport and record the process with the camera in my other hand. A bit clumsy but worth sharing so people can enjoy a full unedited process of a sketch taking place on a fast shaking and moving train! It's divided into 2 parts so grab a cup of coffee or tea and some biscuits....quite long, I mean.

THE SKETCH

PART 1

PART 2

SPECIAL QUOTE"I talk as I sketch, too, in order to keep their minds off what I'm doing so I'll get the most natural expression I can from them. Also, the talking helps to size up the subject's personality, so I can figure out better how to portray him."-Norman Rockwell

I have tried to capture that freshness in the air after the rain with some reflections too. I was mainly inspired to take this piece after studying how Edward Seago takes on the clear cut effect of light and shade on architecture.

SPECIAL QUOTE"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might..."-King Solomon of Israel(Ecclesiastes 9:10)

Saturday, February 04, 2012

This is one of those pieces that I get to do when I feel like making a statement about my experiences(these experience range from what I see in peoples faces, discussion I had with people as I sketch, the way I felt on the day I sketched the person, inspiration I gathered from the journey that day and a host of other things) on public transport, the press cuttings and the constant cancellations and delays. Most of it is personal and all the sketches used for this piece were done right there and then on public transport. The coloured sketches were all done directly from the sketches with no other references used. The joy of juxtaposing and composing these kind of pieces knows no bounds, it makes one feel like a child again in the craft class.

detail(below)

SPECIAL QUOTATION"I know that a design works when the eye moves around the format instead of becoming focused in one place."-Robert Bateman, Design & Composition secrets of professional artists.

DOCUMENTARY : Adebanji Alade- The Addictive Sketcher

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WHAT INSPIRES ME TO KEEP SKETCHING

"Drawing is everything. When I was sixteen, I made over 400 drawings during that winter and spring. I drew mostly with a 2B pencil on typewriter paper. I drew during every spare moment. I’m heartened when I see your sketchbooks and see the way you’re always drawing at the Concept workshops. You remind me of me. When I was teaching university, I was disheartened by students who hadn’t paid their drawing dues, for unless you practice, you simply don’t know how to make lovely lines."-William Whitaker"Drawing is the basis of everything. All the way through the painting you must be questioning the drawing, right up to the very end. Otherwise you get the drawing right and fill it in with colour. As long as you get the effect you want, that's the important thing. You can use a piece of rag, a sable brush, a hoghair brush or a knife - it doesn't matter what."

PLEIN AIR

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Socrates on Brazil and their failure in the 2010 World Cup

"Brazilians are very creative and the way this team was, it was not like that".

"It was very predictable - we don't do things correctly like Europeans, we like to improvise.

"Football is an art and players should be allowed to show creativity. If the coach gives freedom to the players to play the way they know how, they can do it.

"If [painters] Vincent van Gogh and Edgar Degas had known when they were doing their work the level of recognition that they were going to have, they would not have done them the same. You have to enjoy doing the art and not think 'will I win?'".

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About Me

I am a little bloke with a big heart. I love the LORD cos he made me what I am today. I have a wonderful wife Ruth and a budding painter boy JOSH! He is 7 and a little girl who is 3!
I love sketching the human face, especially the people I meet from day to day, people I may never meet again!
So I sieze the opportunity, it's something that keeps me loving the place we all share.